The meeting was arranged for the following afternoon at the intermediary’s home. Just as the intermediary said, the seller was indeed in a hurry and brought all the necessary documents. Perhaps after hearing from their mutual friend that Wang Cheng’s family was not short on money and could pay the full amount at once, the seller quoted a price slightly lower than the one Papa Wang’s friend had mentioned the day before.
The storefront was not in the best part of Chengping’s market, but the location was not bad either. What truly convinced Wang Cheng was that the seller had originally bought the property with a similar idea to his own. The man had intended for his family to stay in Chengping occasionally, so there was also a courtyard behind the shop, with a decent amount of space.
After finishing their discussion, they went directly to Chengping to inspect the property.
Wang Cheng and Papa Wang were fairly satisfied with the shop. They were not worried about being cheated either. Anyone Papa Wang regarded as a friend was generally a person of decent character.
The day after signing the contract, Papa Wang asked around and found a secondhand truck. Because the seller was an acquaintance, they paid only half the original price. On the very day they bought it, they moved all the tools from home to the Chengping storefront. The shop had been closed for more than two months and was filthy inside. Wang Cheng spent more than half a day cleaning it.
On the fourth day, Manager Xu called and said the buyer he had contacted had come through. That morning, Wang Cheng drove the truck instead and took the third batch of jam to the packaging factory. The truck had a manual transmission, which felt awkward after he had gotten used to driving automatics. Fortunately, they were not scheduled to meet until the afternoon, or he might have been late.
“Brother Wang, why did you bring the goods over yourself? You could have told me and I would’ve sent one of the factory drivers to pick them up.” Only when Manager Xu saw Wang Cheng get out of the truck did he realize it belonged to him. It was secondhand, but Manager Xu certainly did not look down on him for it.
“How could I trouble your factory’s drivers over my family’s goods? I was coming here anyway.” Wang Cheng spoke while opening the rear doors. There was not much jam inside because Mama Wang and Eldest Maternal Aunt had both been busy with other things lately, but there were plenty of chestnuts and hawthorn.
Two workers carried the jam into the factory while Wang Cheng took two large sacks from the truck himself. They were filled with chestnuts and hawthorn.
“These chestnuts and hawthorn look pretty good.” The packaging factory mainly handled food processing, and Manager Xu had seen plenty of produce over the years. He could tell at a glance and grew even more pleased.
“They’re all wild-grown and completely natural. No pesticides were used. If they’re roasted properly, the chestnuts are really good, and most of the hawthorn isn’t very sour either. You can try some, Manager Xu.” As he spoke, Wang Cheng took out a bag of roasted chestnuts. Mama Wang had made them herself. They smelled wonderful and were very popular with the children in Guanjia Village.
Manager Xu did not stand on ceremony and tried a few. Unexpectedly, his expression brightened. “These chestnuts really are fragrant. The texture’s good too.”
“We’ve got good mountains and good water where we live, so of course the chestnuts taste good. If you like them, Manager Xu, take some more home to try.”
Manager Xu had already formed another idea. He asked Wang Cheng to wait a moment, then stepped outside to contact his boss. About ten minutes later, the owner of the packaging factory arrived. Boss Xie was also in his forties like Manager Xu, though a little younger, and unlike Manager Xu he did not have a beer belly. He was tall and broad. After chatting for a few minutes, Wang Cheng learned he was from northern China, which explained his hearty, straightforward manner of speaking.
“Manager Xu already told me about it. Brother Wang, if you don’t mind, I’ll buy however many chestnuts and hawthorn you have,” Boss Xie said directly.
Wang Cheng looked at Manager Xu. He had more or less guessed that Manager Xu had called his boss over because he had another idea in mind.
“Brother Wang, the chestnuts and hawthorn from your family are good. My boss is interested in doing this business with you. What do you think?” Manager Xu was not worried about being accused of stealing someone else’s deal. After all, he had only said he could introduce other buyers. Nothing had been arranged yet.
“Boss Xie has already helped me quite a bit. If Boss Xie is interested, that saves me another headache too. But these chestnuts and hawthorn are only a small portion. We still have several hundred jin at home, and there’ll be plenty more later. Altogether it’ll be over a thousand jin. Are you sure you want all of it?” Wang Cheng asked.
“Good products aren’t hard to sell, are they?” Boss Xie laughed.
“True.” Wang Cheng relaxed and smiled. Once he had a regular buyer, he would no longer need to run around looking for people to take the fruit. Manager Xu and Boss Xie had genuinely done him a big favor.
Once the deal was settled, Manager Xu sent the same driver from before to follow Wang Cheng home and pick up the goods. Wang Cheng did not keep any aside for the family because there was still plenty on the mountain. Once everything remaining was harvested, there would probably be another three or four hundred jin. After the load was weighed, Driver Chen called Boss Xie to report the amount.
Once he got busy, Wang Cheng lost track of time. Before he knew it, November 6 had arrived. The storefront was finally taken care of. Through one of Papa Wang’s acquaintances, they had already ordered the tables, chairs, and cabinets needed for opening the shop. They would be delivered in another two days.
After all their work during this period, the weeds in North Mountain’s medicinal plots had been completely cleared. Several kinds of medicinal-herb seeds had been scattered into the loosened soil. They would need more than twenty days to sprout, however, and during that time the plots had to be watched constantly to prevent weeds from growing back.
By November, the weather had turned cold. Everyone was wearing long sleeves, long pants, and jackets. Some places had even begun to snow, and people were already wearing fur-lined boots and down coats, such as in the capital.
Wang Ziyu had called Wang Cheng the night before and told him it was already snowing heavily in the capital. A major snowfall had come down that night, flakes filling the air and covering most of the university campus in white. It was the first time she had ever seen such a magnificent scene, and she had been deeply impressed. She even sent several photos to Wang Cheng’s phone.
Big Brother had called home too, telling everyone the weather had turned cold and reminding them to put on more clothes.
Normally, that was the sort of thing their parents should have been calling the children to say, but once Papa Wang and Mama Wang became busy, they forgot. When Big Brother called, Wang Cheng handed the phone to Mama Wang. Having finally caught her eldest son, Mama Wang immediately launched into a nonstop lecture that lasted more than an hour. By the time she handed the phone back, it was hot.
“Chengcheng, very nice,” Wang Ning’an said over the phone.
“Ahem. I couldn’t help it. Mom keeps talking about you. You happened to call while she was right there, and when she asked me for the phone, I couldn’t exactly refuse.” Wang Cheng sounded utterly helpless.
“You think your big brother doesn’t know you? If you truly wanted an excuse, Mom could ask for the phone and you still wouldn’t hand it over. You think I can’t deal with you just because I’m in the capital?”
“I’ve been wronged, Big Brother. I respect you so much, how could I deliberately set you up? I love you too much for that. I’ll tell you the truth. When you called, Mom was the one who handed me the phone.” Wang Cheng had no desire to be remembered for revenge by his elder brother and hurried to distance himself from the whole thing.
“Really?” Wang Ning’an got goosebumps from that “I love you,” though he also found it funny. His younger brother was always like this.
“On my honor.”
“All right. I’ll believe you this once.”
“Many thanks for Your Majesty’s mercy.”
Not long after Wang Cheng ended the call with his elder brother, Chu Yifeng’s number appeared on his screen. It was already past nine at night. If Chu Yifeng were still in the capital, he could probably see the heavy snowfall too. Shanhai City did not get much snow in winter. Even when it did snow, it was usually light. The capital was different. Once a major snowfall came, roads could close and going out became extremely difficult.
“Chengcheng.”
The very first word from Chu Yifeng knocked every thought out of Wang Cheng’s head. Only his family called him Chengcheng. They had done it for more than twenty years, so he was long used to the nickname. But hearing Chu Yifeng suddenly use it made him instantly understand the goosebumps Wang Ning’an had felt a moment ago.
“Boss Chu, when did you pick up this trick? Doesn’t it feel weird?”
“Not at all. If you’re not used to it, I can call you that a few more times. You’ll get used to it eventually.” Chu Yifeng laughed as he spoke.
“Stop. Even if I tell you to change it, you won’t, right?”
Chu Yifeng did not answer, but the quiet laugh that reached Wang Cheng first gave him the answer. He knew it.
“Boss Chu, can we keep ‘Chengcheng’ for private use?”
“Since you’re asking so sincerely, I’ll only call you that in private. When are you coming back?” Chu Yifeng changed the subject.
“You’re back?”
“I got back last night.”
“I won’t be busy for a while. The storefront’s settled, and I found a buyer for the fruit too. It’s that packaging factory you introduced me to. Boss Xie is interested in our fruit and wants all of it, so I don’t have to go find another buyer.”
“He knows good merchandise when he sees it.”
“Exactly. Our chestnuts and hawthorn are the real mountain-grown stuff.” Wang Cheng sounded pleased. “By the way, I need to deliver some goods to the packaging factory tomorrow. Once I’m done, I’ll come find you.”
“I’ll pick you up when the time comes.”
“Sure. I’ll call you when I arrive.”
“Okay.”